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Web-Grognards: Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: March 2007

What is a 'grognard'?

To quote the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed:- Grognard: a soldier of Napoleon's Old Guard; a veteran soldier; grumbler (French). 'Grognard' is also slang for someone who likes playing wargames. You might like to see if you are a grognard according to this definition, or in fun, short 10 point tests (test 1, test 2, test 3) or this more serious long test. Surveys of Consim-L subscribers reveal characteristics of grognards and how they started in the hobby. There is also an online survey of gamers. National Review has an article about grognards. The archetypal grognard is captured in the Larry Leadhead cartoon strip. Finally, are grognards a dying breed?

I am not a grognard. Can I find out something about wargaming?

For an exhaustive guide to wargaming see the Complete Wargames Handbook (2nd edition, 1992, free), (3rd edition, 2000, for purchase) a book written by the legendary Jim Dunnigan of SPI fame. Jim is working on Team Trackless, a project using commercial wargames for testing military developments, hosted on his StrategyPage site. For a shorter, more up to date guide try the Wargames site. Alternatively, to try a wargame for yourself, look at the games Battle for Moscow and First Blood. These pages contain free, complete board wargames for you to print out and play. You might find these basic tactics for SPI's game Napoleon at War useful in helping you play 'Battle for Moscow'. If you have played Battle for Moscow then you might want to look at this step by step replay of the Learning Scenario of the more complex game SPQR, published by GMT. In the replay, a single Roman auxiliary legion faces Hannibal commanding a small combined arms force.

What is covered on Web-Grognards?

Games of interest to grognards. Essentially conflict simulation game (i.e. wargame) information, including (but not limited to) rules errata and variants, game reviews and links to relevant web sites. The emphasis is on board wargames, but miniatures, computer and card-based wargames are also covered. Many hundreds of games are covered here.

What is not covered on Web-Grognards?

Time-dependent information (e.g. future convention announcements), the historical background to wargames, military wargames and active wargames, like paintball. There is nothing untoward about any of these topics, but they are not covered here simply to save effort.

When did Web-Grognards start?

Web-Grognards began in April 1995, offering web access to the contents of Joe Boeke's original 'Grognards' anonymous FTP archive at ftp.uadv.uci.edu, now defunct. Until September 1996, Web-Grognards lived at http://www.clever.net/grognard/, on a server maintained by the Digital Landlords. Since September 1997 Web-Grognards has had its own domain, grognard.com. From June 2002 grognard.com has been hosted on an Intel based P4 server with 512Mb, 80Gb running under Redhat 7.3. As of September will be Redhat EL3
and Apache 2.0.50, maintained by the Harte & Lyne Commercial Webserver service.

Who runs Web-Grognards? Where does its material come from?

The three people named at the foot of this page organise the site. Material though comes from the grognard community on the Internet, and the names of hundreds of contributors are on the files and pages they created. Most of these grognards are subscribers of the Consimworld Discussion Board, Consim-L/SFConsim-L and/or rec.games.board

When is Web-Grognards updated with new material?

Typically every Sunday. Update notices are usually distributed via Consim-L/SFConsim-L, rec.games.board, uk.games.board, alt.games.wargames and the Web-Grognards Updates area in the Consim Cafe on the Consimworld Discussion Board.

How do I submit material?

Anyone is welcome to send new material for Web-Grognards by email (in text, MIME, uuencode or binhex formats) or FTP (by anonymous upload to ftp://grognard.com/upload/). You must also email details of FTP'd material, else it will be deleted.

What format(s) are best for submitted material(s)?

Preferably formats that can be read by a web browser, i.e. text files, HTML pages and/or GIF/JPEG images. If this is difficult just send on the materials anyway. Most common software application file formats should cause no problems.

There is a file on Web-Grognards in format 'xxx' - how do I view it on my computer?

Most information on Web-Grognards is in text files but some is in other file formats: for help on dealing with these see Common Internet File Formats. Some files are for Word, Powerpoint or Excel: Microsoft offers free file viewers for these for those using Windows. Icword is a Word viewer for Macintosh users. StarOffice is a free Office clone available for various systems. For PDF files download Adobe's free Acrobat Reader.

There is a file on Web-Grognards in language 'yyy' - how do I read it?

Most material on, and linked to from, Web-Grognards is in English. For automatic translation from English into certain other languages please see AltaVista Translations. This translation service can also translate into English as there are some files on Web-Grognards in French, German etc. However these translations are likely to be somewhat rough :-( Submissions of translated files are welcome!

How much usage does Web-Grognards get?

Plenty. Please see last week's log for detailed usage information.

Do you accept advertising?

Yes, as long it is wargame-related. Offer a swap of an advertising banner for a game or email for rates. Web-Grognards has also run competitions to promote games/shops/etc. Again email for details.

Who pays for Web-Grognards?

The owner of the main email address, grognard@grognard.com, Alan Poulter. If you want to contribute check out our Club-Grognard page which offers you the chance to buy an email address or web space on grognard.com, to help run Web-Grognards.

Can you recommend a wargame?

Well, to see what people currently like check out the Board Game Recommendation System, BoardgameGeek and the Internet Top 100 Games List. Site listing wargame that have won awards are linked to via the hobby section on the Web-Grognards home page. Older recommendations can be found in lists of favourite wargames from Consim-l - 'desert island' games, the Top 5 games, the Games Database and East Front games, and from rec.games.board - Top 10 games, favourite games and favourite SF games.

I want to buy a wargame - where do I get one?

If you know the publisher go to their web site (see the wargame companies/publishers directory for sites). Or check out the many online shops we list. And do not forget your local shop!

I am looking for an out of print wargame - how do I find the game I want?

Some online shops stock out of print games as do many online auction services and trading posts which can be a good source. See the online shops and trading posts we list. There is no guarantee that they will have the game you want. You can try asking on the appropriate folder(s) on Consimworld Discussion Board, Consim-L/SFConsim-L and/or rec.games.board.marketplace if anyone has the game you want for sale or trade.

I want to sell a wargame - can you help me?

Try the online shops that stock out of print games as well as online auction services. See the online shops and trading posts we list. Auctions are a good way of selling but be sure to used the following guidelines (Word file) to describe the condition of the game you are selling. As to the price you should ask, Mark Boone and Danny Holte (see links to their home pages) both sell current game price lists. Or seek out prices at online shops and auctions for yourself.

I am looking for a missing wargame part - can you help me?

You can try asking on the appropriate folder(s) on Consimworld Discussion Board, Consim-L/SFConsim-L and/or rec.games.board if anyone has the game part you want. Offer to pay postage.

I have rules questions for a wargame - can you answer them?

Chances are no! :-( First, check to see if the question is not already answered by errata or question and answer (Q&A) files on Web-Grognards. Second, if you find nothing then go to the game publisher's web site (see the wargame companies/publishers directory for sites) and check for errata. If your question still is not answered then use the publisher's contact email address and ask them. If you get no answer (or if the publisher of the game has no web site) then see if there are folders for the game and/or publisher on the Consimworld Discussion Board and ask your question their. Finally if your question still is unanswered then post it to the relevant folder for that era/type of game on the Consimworld Discussion Board, and to Consim-L/SFConsim-L (as appropriate) and rec.games.board.If you get a question answered please email us the answer, so we can add it to Web-Grognards and save others having to look for it in the future.

Please report any problems with this page (http://grognard.com/grogfaq.html).